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For DIY musicians, Quick Response Code, or "QR Code," may represent the biggest thing to hit guerilla music marketing since the vuvuzela.  And by "hit," I mean a right sucker punch to the mouth.  Already the rage in Japan, passers-by can scan a band's gig poster into their smartphone and download a free music sample on the spot, or be transported to a special web page with discounted ticket and merchandise offers.  Engaging stuff.

But elsewhere - I'm looking at you, America - QR Code is only just catching on.  Many camera-equipped smart phones still cannot scan the curious pictograms with any reliability.  Those that do may fail to launch the phone's native web browser or refuse to download an MP3 audio file.  Welcome to the bleeding edge.  What's more, American consumers are only just becoming familiar with the crossword-like squares and how they can open gateways to free music and discounted goodies.

But wait!  That's good news for ambitious bands looking to capitalize on emerging trends.  Bleeding edge, be damned!  Let's put these codes to work for us now, while the novelty is hot and before the competition catches up.

What Is QR Code?

Technically speaking, QR Code is an improved, two-dimensional bar code.  Whereas traditional barcodes provide one line of information with limited error correction - this is evidenced by the number of times your checkout clerk scans and rescans your deli meat - QR Codes provide multiple lines of information and much greater error correction.  In fact, with as much as 30% of a QR code smudged or missing, a quality scanner can still read and interpret the code's meaning.  Try that with your meat.

To be specific, the QR Code technical specification defines four selectable levels of error correction (see table), employing the same Reed-Solomon error correction algorithm used by music CDs.  Greater levels of error correction capability require more data redundancy and, consequently, will increase the size ("symbol version") of the symbol accordingly.

QR Code is free to use.  Japanese corporation, Denso-Wave, invented the technology in 1994, but chose to share, rather than capitalize on its patents.

Though designed for commercial parts and shipment tracking, QR Code has become synonymous with mobile tagging, or hardlinking, whereby physical objects are linked to virtual content.  When printed in a magazine ad or on a billboard, for example, consumers may scan the real-world advertisements with a camera-equipped smart phone and immediately view the linked virtual content.

To that end, mobile tagging appears to be purpose-built for musicians.  How many industries market a product that can be beamed freely to its customers?  Just as the Internet and MP3 file formats equalized music distribution in the 90's, mobile tagging takes an equivalent leap forward in the field of music marketing.  Other businesses can deliver offers and incentives, but only media makers can deliver the goods.  Anywhere.  On the spot.

It's also worth noting that indies and DIY musicians who already offer free music downloads can make the most of QR Code right away, while traditional record labels continue their struggle with digital music, downloads, and generally, the 21st century.  In other words, those who give the most can gain the most from QR Code.

How To Make Your Own QR Code

The Internet is chok full o' free QR Code applications you can use to create your own code images.  My personal favorite is Kerem Erkan's QR Code and 2D Code Generator (http://keremerkan.net/qr-code-and-2d-code-generator/), by virtue of its features.  Of the code generators I tested, some were prettier, but Kerem's was the only one that allowed for the selection of error correction level.

Another QR Code generator worth checking out is offered by i-nigma.com (http://www.i-nigma.com/CreateBarcodes.html).  Though fixed at Level M error correction, it displays and updates your QR Code image in real-time, as you type.  This novelty demonstrates nicely the relationship between coded message size and code version (image complexity).

Not enough online code generators fer ya?  Check out the list of QR Code Generators Online, at 2D Code.

WhERE Should My QR Codes Link To?

When choosing a link destination, consider the longevity of the marketing campaign.  Shorter and experimental campaigns pose few concerns.  However, if you'll tattoo your code on your forehead (see "Where To Display Your QR Code," below) or otherwise publish your code forever and ever, it's critical that you maintain 100% control of the destination content.  Do not link to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube or any other third-party destination because, quite simply, they might not be popular, accessible or alive in ten years.  Instead, be sure to link to a domain name that you own, that is free from any potential trademark, business or partnership conflicts and that holds content you can readily modify at any time - that is to say, the content is not built upon a particular programming language or other technology that will limit your options.

Long-term campaigns should probably link to a standard HTML web page rather than a music, movie or other media file (e.g., http://mywebsite.com/mymusic.mp3).  While you might be able to replace the "mymusic.mp3" content, you will be limited to that file format and, again, the format might be incompatible with future media players.  By contrast, a standard web page is largely future-proof and can either incorporate, link to or automatically redirect visitors to your content du jour, including said MP3 audio file.

To further protect yourself from digital obsolescence, I recommend using a directory URL (e.g., http://mywebsite.com/mysub/) rather than a document URL (e.g., http://mywebsite.com/mysub/index.html).  This way, you can specify the default filename to deliver in the web server's settings and, more importantly, change it later.  So, for example, your web server could deliver a default document of index.html today, index.php tomorrow (when you launch that new interactive webpage design), mysong.mp3 next month, and mysong.mp6 when the audio file format is invented in ten years.

A directory URL also has the advantage of being shorter.  Shorter URLs in your QR Codes have two benefits.  First, if you choose to display the unencoded URLs aside your QR Code pictograms (many advertisers do this for the benefit of those without a compatible phone), shorter URLs are easier to remember and much easier to type into a Blackberry or other "thumby" device.  Another advantage of short URLs is that they produce smaller, simpler QR Code images that are easier to scan at small sizes and greater distances.  When embroidered on a hat, for example, the code image produced by a lengthy URL may be too complex for sewing machines to render properly and the results too choppy for scanners to read.

To demonstrate the importance of small webpage address URLs, the three QR Code blocks displayed below resolve to addresses with twenty-nine characters, 60 characters, and 90 characters, respectively.  Which one would you feel safest stitching on your band's 2010 world tour apparel?

And while we are on the subject of image optimization, we should discuss error correction, being that higher correction levels produce larger, more complex code images.  Fortunately, error correction Level L (the lowest error correction level) is sufficient for most print applications and affords the smallest, simplest code images.  Anything above Level M is discouraged, except for mission-critical applications that are likely to generate damage to the code image, such as inventory tracking and shipping.  That said, know that higher error correction levels afford greater artistic freedom, should you wish to incorporate overlapping graphics, non-uniform backgrounds and low-contrast colors, for example, into your design.  Irregular surfaces, such as T-shirts might also demand Level M.  But there's no one-size-fits-all rule here.  Use your own judgement and, most importantly, test thoroughly before committing to a high-production run.

As already suggested, musicians will be tempted to link their QR Code directly to an MP3 audio file.  However, my experiments revealed a few caveats.  First, American cell phone technology isn't quite ready for this application.  In my attempts with Blackberry and iPhone 3GS smart phones, only one out of four code reader applications succeeded in cueing up the destination audio file.  Not surprisingly, the commercial ($0.99) QuickMark iPhone app - it is recommended by Google - succeeded while all of the free code readers failed.

Another thing to consider when linking to MP3 files is that many cell phones operate on limited data plans.  As such, when you push a multi-megabyte file to somebody's phone without warning, it could be regarded as a frivolous, self-serving consumption of the subscriber's resources.  While it remains to be seen how public opinion will judge such promotional activities, a safer alternative would be to offer an opt-in landing page instead.  On it, you can clarify the song title, file size, and a bold "download now" button, linking to the opt-in MP3 file.

Have fun with your links!  Those who scan your code want to be surprised and rewarded, so give them a gift - free music, free tickets, a discount, a laugh, or some other surprise.  Hold a contest or scavenger hunt, incorporating QR codes pasted around town.  Whatever you do, do not punish your visitors with a heartless sales pitch.  Deflate them and they might not bother to scan your next poster.  Or worse, they might not bother to scan anybody's poster.

Where To Display Your QR Code

For guerilla music marketers, QR Code pops the top on a whole new can of opportunities.  Anywhere you would display a promotional piece, you can hang or incorporate a custom QR Code.  And if graphic design is your weak point, you can take advantage of QR Code's novelty right now by pasting unmodified printouts around town.

Give your QR Code legs!  Branded T-shirts and hats have longevity over posters while adding a social component. Artists can wear their own codes and invite prospective fans to "scan me" (wink, wink).  And speaking of sex - you knew I'd get there eventually - silkscreen your code in a tantalizing spot (e.g., butt shorts) for laughs and flirtatious scans.  How 'bout a tattoo?  If that's too bold (or too "big brother") for you, know that custom temporary tattoos are also available and make terrific give-aways.

Nevermind that QR Codes will appear in national and international advertising campaigns.  For indie bands, QR Code returns our attention to the local market, or wherever you have a street presence.  In other words, the worldwide Internet, though heralded as the "great equalizer" for struggling musicians, has become a crowded, difficult environment in which to gain fans.  But place a QR Code on your gig posters and watch your website buzz with new fans.  What's more, you'll generate local fans who might otherwise never attend a live show.

Last, but certainly not least, be sure to create a separate QR Code for each of your advertising campaigns.  Record the name and description of the campaign (e.g., "Sacramento Gig Posters"), the publication date and destination link (e.g., http://myband.com/qrcode/sac_gig_2010/).  This way, you can track the success of each campaign in Google's WebSense or other web stats application and tweak your promotional efforts accordingly.

That's it, my minions of self-construction.  I sincerely hope you find this information helpful.  Now, go perpetrate some mobile tagging and be quick about it, before I beat ya to it.